Mac Miller was addicted to this very dangerous and addictive cocktail back in 2012.

Mac Miller was addicted to this very dangerous and addictive cocktail back in 2012.

The passing of Mac Miller has rocked the music industry, as fans and celebrities mourn the 26-year-old’s highly unexpected and sudden death. His passing is suspected to stem from a drug overdose, although official reports have yet to be announced. But throughout his life, Mac was outspoken about his drug abuse, and at one point in 2012 he was highly addicted to “purple drank,” also referred to as “lean” or “sizzurp.”

This drink is made by mixing prescription-strength cough syrup with a fizzy drink, which doesn’t sound as dangerous as it really is. Unfortunately, prescription-strength cough syrup is high in codeine and promethazine, two compounds that can be “euphoric” and “dissociative,” according to Metro.

At the same time, codeine is known to be addictive, detailed Medicine Net. In fact, if a pregnant woman uses codeine during a pregnancy, the newborn can exhibit opioid withdrawal symptoms. In fact, if anyone uses codeine for a long time, they can also suffer from withdrawal symptoms. Some of its serious side effects include dangerous respiratory depression, low blood pressure, and even a fatal overdose at high levels of consumption.

The other compound found in cough syrup, promethazine, can also cause serious side effects in some people. This can include breathing that stops for a short time, faintness, irregular heartbeat, and uncontrolled eye and body movements, detailed Medline Plus. Combine that with codeine, and it’s easy to see why purple drank is so dangerous.

“I was not happy and I was on lean very heavy. I was so f***ed up all the time it was bad. My friends couldn’t even look at me the same. I was lost.”

Mac’s friend Jimmy Murton also revealed how he felt about his friend’s addiction to the cocktail.

“I’ve never really been worried about Mac except during that lean period. I saw him in that mentality I remember being in—you’re getting f***ed up because you feel like you need to. You’re trying to get away from everything.”

And it sounded like the addiction was pretty bad because Jimmy also said that “For how much he was drinking it’s unbelievable that he stopped. It’s definitely one of the most impressive things he’s ever done.” Luckily Mac was reported to have kicked the lean habit by November 2012.

In Case You Missed It: Rapper Mac Miller dead of overdose at 26#MacMiller has been open about his trouble with substance abuse including an addiction to powerful cough syrup — known on the street as purple drank. https://t.co/HSxIA3s7Pn